Which version do you prefer ?
Honestly, i can't chose. I like things in the Lester cut, like the opening, but at the same time, the Donner cut takes itself a bit more seriously than the Lester cut, but it also has a redundant ending that is like the first film.

Donner Cut - it's less jokey, doesn't have stupid powers like the cellophane S or finger beans, Superman actually throws a punch aswell etc but changing the line General would you care to step outside for ever heard of freedom of the press was a bad move. I also think they should have ditched the turning the world back ending for an open ending but I guess these problems will only be rectified if we ever get an ultimate cut.

Donner cut no doubt , even if some things dont add up. Brando is in a whole new level. He immediately gives life to the movie. Superman sacrifices have a much bigger impact (renouncing his powers , breaking the link with his father and finally his chance with Lois).

The only thing that bothers me about the Donner cut is the time traveling at the end. I know that the original intention was that the "earth spinning" scene was originally meant for the second film, but then Donner would have to come with a different resolution for the first film. It is a messy affair. Still it is a Deus Ex Machina that renders futile the events of the film, a thing that I didn't like in the first movie, and here it is worse.

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A hero can be anyone.Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended.

Donner cut no doubt , even if some things dont add up. Brando is in a whole new level. He immediately gives life to the movie. Superman sacrifices have a much bigger impact (renouncing his powers , breaking the link with his father and finally his chance with Lois).

The only thing that bothers me about the Donner cut is the time traveling at the end. I know that the original intention was that the "earth spinning" scene was originally meant for the second film, but then Donner would have to come with a different resolution for the first film. It is a messy affair. Still it is a Deus Ex Machina that renders futile the events of the film, a thing that I didn't like in the first movie, and here it is worse.

Think of it has something completely alternative , where the first movie ended up a little bit differently . No earth spinning. He is saved by miss teschmacher , intercepts the missile and ends up freeing Zod. If you recall the cut , Donner shows us exactly this actions. Its like his own new version of the first one. We start from a slightly different point than the end of the first one. Its the way i see it

It's a shame he wasnt able to create his complete vision of both movies. Both of them ended up suffering a little bit.

Oh yes! I remember that bit now. I really liked the Donner's cut, but I felt that the earth spinning undermined a lot of the actions, moreso than in the first movie, because it undone everything. But overall a very superior film.

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A hero can be anyone.Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended.

Oh yes! I remember that bit now. I really liked the Donner's cut, but I felt that the earth spinning undermined a lot of the actions, moreso than in the first movie, because it undone everything. But overall a very superior film.

Yeah, him going back is never a great solution , its a stupid mechanism that from a storytelling point of view is almost irresponsible. It takes weight from everything. Although it's more cheerful in the end of the movie , because he also ends up saving a lot of people that died during Zod's attack. With the kiss only Lois forgot the incidents. With the spinning he ends up saving everyone.

I think it should have ended with Superman saying goodbye to Lois on the roof, then deal with the bully, then they should have kept the scene where he flew back to the whitehouse and told the president he wouldn't let him down, and finally the smile at the camera and he flies off.

The Lester cut is better because it feels more complete, plus I never found it to be a bad movie to begin with. The Donner cut is not exactly what we would have gotten if Richard Donner hadn't been fired. There's a screen test in place of a real scene, there's bits using stand-ins and old footage Frankensteined together (not unlike Selutron's cut), and some tracks are overused.

The best cut would mostly leave the Lester cut as is, but use the Jor-El footage in place of the Lara stuff and also use the Donner version of the final fortress confrontation (which leaves out the finger lasers, the cellophane S, and the teleporting/hologram stuff as well as the Hackman body/voice double). I would also leave out the Daily Planet scene with Lois jumping out the window because I feel it doesn't work without Donner's Niagara Falls stuff, which only exists as screen tests. So instead of that, the Paris rescue, the kid falling into the falls, Lois jumping into the river and Clark tripping into the fire.

You like the Paris rescue ? That scene is just wow. It fits with Superman 3 or something. And Clark tripping in a log ? I hate that scene. I really like the new one , there's a cheekiness in it i like it. Its a great Lois and Clark banter.

The Paris scene is really good if there was a way to integrate that in the Donner Cut I'd love it to be included.

in the Donner cut the missile from the first movie explodes, how about its still there and floating in space, but just ran out of fuel, throw in the Paris scene and have the bomb attached to the elevator explode also setting off the missile causing the massive shock wave that is strong enough to crack the Phantom Zone ta da

in the Donner cut the missile from the first movie explodes, how about its still there and floating in space, but just ran out of fuel, throw in the Paris scene and have the bomb attached to the elevator explode also setting off the missile causing the massive shock wave that is strong enough to crack the Phantom Zone ta da